Sun Tzu on Analytics

Apparently he was a fan:

Now the general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple ere the battle is fought. The general who loses a battle makes but few calculations beforehand. Thus do many calculations lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat: how much more no calculation at all! It is by attention to this point that I can foresee who is likely to win or lose.

For those of you who may be unfamiliar with Sun Tzu, he was the ancient Chinese general and philosopher who wrote The Art of War. Still required reading around military academies and war colleges around the world to this day, The Art of War is perhaps the most influential military treatise in history. It crystallizes centuries of strategic wisdom into what are essentially tweet-sized chunks of timeless insight. Thus do many calculations lead to victory...I like that part. I think I'm gonna' put it on a t-shirt.

Podcast Episode 23 - John Urschel

John Urschel, professional football player and mathematician, joins the show. John was recently selected in the 5th round by the Baltimore Ravens in this year's NFL draft. Last season, John was a Penn State football co-captain and as a student-athlete he achieved a 4.0 GPA while majoring in math. For his efforts, he won the Campbell Trophy, awarded to the top scholar athlete in Division one football. He recently proved the Urschel-Zikatanov Generalized Bisection Theorem and published his findings in the Journal of Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy.

On the show, John explains how he came to love the world of mathematics, and how his passion for football aligns with his commitment to academics. He also shares some of the lessons he's learned from veterans in OTAs and describes how he's preparing for the upcoming NFL season.

Subscribe on iTunes and Stitcher